Socket wrench set



March 13, 1928.

C. E. WAKEFIELD SOCKET WRENCH SET Filed Apri1 l, 1927 Ya/amaai. `ia A Mey Patented Mar. 13, 1928.

-UNITED vSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE E. WAKEFIELD, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO'WAKE- FELD ALL-STEEL WRENCHl COMPANY, INC., 0F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A

CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

SOCKET WRENCH SET.

Application n led April 1, 1927. Serial No. 180,256.

The present invention relates to socket wrench sets, comprising a plurality of socketed members of graduated sizes, and a common handle or shank, which is provided or use, selectively, with any one of said socketed members. y

rlhe invention resides in a compact assemblage of all these parts ina specially constructed holder or container, the latter being of simple and inexpensive construction, and adapted to prevent `accidental displacement of the parts of the set,- while permitting them to be removed, when desired, with the utmost ease from said container. A

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the improved container with the parts of the wrench set assembled therein. y

Fig. 2 is a view inside elevation of the assembly.

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view on the -line 3-8 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view, showing the device employed to retain the wrench set parts in the holder or container.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures.

A socket wrench set of the type referred to provides as is well known a plurality of similarly shaped socket members, here shown n as six in number, and indicated, respectively, by the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6;` said members, as shown, are graduated `in size and each has a nut or bolt-receiving socket, here shown as hexagonal in form and adapted to fit a given size of nut or bolt, ranging from a large nut or bolt, for which the member 1 is provided, to a small nut or bolt for which the member 6 is provided, intermediate sizes being taken care ot' by the socket members 2 to 5 inclusive.` In the usual manner, each socketed member provides a polygonal opening 7, all of the openings 7 being of the same size and shape, so as to be capable of operative` engagement with the similarly shaped handle or shank member 8,7common to all of said socket members. y

As here shown, the openings 7 are hexagonal, and the handle member 8 is of hexagonal section, to fit all of said openings Preferably, as shown in Fig. 1, one end of the shank or handle 8 is bent at right angles, as indicated at 9; either end of the handle can be inserted in any of the socket members,

depending upon whether the long portion or the short portion of the handle is to be used as a lever arm. i n

According to the invention, a shallow tray or holder 10 -is provided,said tray 1() being preferably made .from a single elongated piece ofk sheet metal, whose longitudinal edges are bent up to provide parallel side walls 11 and 12, and whose ends are bent up to provide end walls 13 and 14. As shown clearly in Fig. 3, parallel longitudinal cuts 15, 15 are made in the bottom ot tray 10, and the `material between said cuts is pressed outwardly, from the plane of said bottom to provide an underlying strip 16 which, for its entire length, is spaced below said bottom, being integrally connected at its ends 17, 17 to said bottom; the purpose of this strip will be hereinafter described.

The tray 10 is of a length land width suiiicient to receive the bent handle member 8, laid latwise therein as shown in Fig. 1, and the remaining area of the bottom of said tray accommodates the socket members 1 to u 6 inclusive, when laid in a row with their sidesagainst said bottom, and theirends against the side wall 12. lnfso disposing the socket members 1 to 6 inclusive, the largest member 1 is placed adjacent the end wall 14 of the tray, with the sizes oi the other socket members gradually decreasing toward the other end of the tray, so that thev smallest member 6 is adjacent the short portion 9 of the handle 8.

As a means of securely holdingthe wrench set parts thus assembled in the tray 10, a device made et wire, and bent substantially into the orm shown in Fig. 4l, is employed. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, this device embodies at one end a rectangular loop of wire 18, which is adapted to encircle the tray'lO transversely, they bottom 19 and sides 20, 2O of said loop iitting snugly the bottom and sides, respectively, of the `tray 10, and the top 21 of saidloop being suticiently above the bottom 19 to overlie the short portion 'where the rectangular loop 18 is completed,

said point 22 being offset from the center of top 2l, the wire has a short upward bend as Shown at 23, and then is carried outward in a. direction substantially transverse to the plane of loop 1S for nearly thc length ot the tray l0, as shown at 24;; at the end ot the portion Q4, the wire is bent. into another and larger loop lying parallel to the loop 18.

This larger loop 251 has a bottom :'26, and sides 2i and QS, adapted to snugly lit the bottom and sides, respectively, ot the tray l0. The side 2 of loop 25 is of a height sntiicient to let the loop embrace the largest socket member l, so that the top 2S) of said loop will ovcrlie said socket member l in substantially the plane of the axis of said member. The other side Q8 ol said loop relatively low, and it is connected to the top 29 by a slauting loop portion 3l), which adjacent said side 2S may bear advantageously on the surface ol. handle member S, to hold the latter in place when said loop 25 is in the operative position shown in Figs. l and Q.

In the process of completing the bending of the larger loop 25, the wire constituting said loop is thrust through the space between the bottom ot tray l0 and the. depressed strip 1G of said bottom, so that the bottom 26 ot loop 25 will be confined by said strip 16 against the t'ay bottom, with the result that. the wire device shown in Fig. 4 becomes secured to the tray l0, with the capacity for sliding longitudinally thereon through a distance corresponding to the length ot strip 1G. Se assembled, said dcvice of Fig. i, in its extreme left hand position. shown in Figs. l and 2, acts as a retaining means for all the wrench set parts in the tray l0, since the portion Qet, connecting the loops 1S and Q5. is so situated as to overlie and substantially contact with all ott the socket members l to G inclusive, while the top 2l of loop l@ and the section 30 of loop 25 hold down the handle S. as above described. Sliding movement oli' the retaining device ol Fig. 4 to the right, until the bottom 2o of loopV Q5 reaches the right hand end of strip lt, serves to tree all 'of the wrench set parts 'for removal, as desired, from tray 10.

In the wrench .set here shown` as is ottentimes the case, the smaller socket members are oit less depth or thickness than the larger ones, so that while the largest socketI l may tit sungly between the handle S and lside wall 12 ot the tray, with no objection able endwise play, the smaller sockets, because olZ their lesser thickness, would be subject.. to such endwise play. Under these circumstances, the material of the wire retaining device above described may bel cxtended from the point of completion 3l ot large loop 25 by a section 32. which is appropriately bent at right angles to provide an elongated portion 33, running from the large loop 25 back to the small loop 18. This portion 33, as shown in Fig. l, bears against the inner ends of the smaller socket members, and tlms serves to prevent endwise play oil: said members in the space between the wall lil and the inner surface of handle member 8.

I claim:

l. A tray or container for the reception on its bottom ot' the intcrchangeablc socket members and the common handle member of a socket wrench set, in combination with longitudinally slidable means` for retaining all of said parts against. said bottom, said retainingmeans comprising wire loops cncircling the tray and its contents at opposite ends, and connected to each other by a wire in overlying relation to the intermediate contents of the tray.

2. A tray or container tor the reception on its bottom of the interchangeable socket members and the common handle member ot a socket wrench set, in combination with longitudinally slidable means for retaining all of said parts against said bottom, said retaining means comprising wire loops encircling the tray and its contents at opposite ends` and connected to each other by a wire in overlying relation to said socket members, and by another wire adapted to confine said socket members against endwise movement.

8. A tray or container for the sidewise reception on its bottom of a row of interchangeable socket members of' a socket wrench set, and for the tlatwise reception on its bottom of the bent-end handle common to all the socket members ot said set, said handle extending parallel to said row, with its bent end occupying the space between an end wall of said tray and the end socket member ot said row, in combination with a wire retaining device slidable longitudinally ol said tray, with portions encircling the same and its contents at opposite ends. said encircling portions being connected by longitudinal portions which hold the socket members against the bottom of said tray and against endwise movement on said bottom.

4. A tray or container 'for the reception therein of the interchangeable socket mem bers and common handle member ot a socket wrench set, said parts being held in said tray by a longitudinally slidable wire retaining device having portions which cncircle said tray and its contents, one ol' said encircling portions being (,:onfined between the bottom of said tray and an integral deflected portion of said bottom` thereby to preventcomplete separation of said device from said tray in exposing the parts of tluI set for removal from said tray.

Dated March 30, 1927.

CLARENCE E. lVAlEFIELl).

ltll) 

